Mark your calendars and come celebrate with the Scribes! Join us for a book signing & poetry reading featuring the anthology contributors on August 21, 2026 at McCreary County Public Library!
WHERE THE OLD STORIES STILL BREATHE
An Anthology of Poetry from the Heart of Appalachia
by the Dandelion Scribes
An Anthology of Poetry from the Heart of Appalachia
by the Dandelion Scribes
Event schedule:
5:30-6:30pm — book sale & signing, meet & greet with the poets; 6:30-8:00pm — poetry reading & performance by contributors
5:30-6:30pm — book sale & signing, meet & greet with the poets; 6:30-8:00pm — poetry reading & performance by contributors
FREE community event! All are welcome! Donations to the Dandelion Scribes appreciated.
This 400-page community anthology is full to the brim with original poetry by poets local to our area in eastern TN & KY. With 25 chapters, including:
1- The Hills Remember by Sheena Fry King
2- Nobody Knows Me Like I Do by Stephen Young
3- The Place of No Searching by Frances Denise
4- Metamorphosis by Jade Foster
5- Blossoming by Blair Correll
6- Creature Comforts by Kristen Reid
7- …And They Lived Happily Never After by Cari Lynne Wilson
8- This Past Year by Olivia Immitt
9- A Pattern Made Manifest by Kristian Obrusanszki
10- Ancient Alchemy by Amber Sparks
11- The Ouroboros is an Electric Eel by S.A. Phillips
12- Enchanted Music of the Subliminal Mind by Dane Osborne
13- happy plant by Nina
14- Seasons of the Mind by Olivia Gilreath
15- A Year in Appalachia as told by the Girl from Strawberry Plains by R. Clift
16- My Life As The World Fell Apart by Bobbie Jean
17- A Heroic Heart by Chris Boyatt
18- Pew Poems by Stephanie Duncan
19- Painful Bouts of Sobriety by Amethyst Drake
20- Radicals & Rye by Diona Marie Gwyn
21- Common Disasters and Other Ordinary Tragedies by Brandon Thorpe
22- Identity Crisis Solved by Cameron Lyric Cox
23- Awakening by Rhonda Kendziorski
24- Betrayal and Love by Angelia Ross
25- I exist in fragments by the Dithy Rambler
2- Nobody Knows Me Like I Do by Stephen Young
3- The Place of No Searching by Frances Denise
4- Metamorphosis by Jade Foster
5- Blossoming by Blair Correll
6- Creature Comforts by Kristen Reid
7- …And They Lived Happily Never After by Cari Lynne Wilson
8- This Past Year by Olivia Immitt
9- A Pattern Made Manifest by Kristian Obrusanszki
10- Ancient Alchemy by Amber Sparks
11- The Ouroboros is an Electric Eel by S.A. Phillips
12- Enchanted Music of the Subliminal Mind by Dane Osborne
13- happy plant by Nina
14- Seasons of the Mind by Olivia Gilreath
15- A Year in Appalachia as told by the Girl from Strawberry Plains by R. Clift
16- My Life As The World Fell Apart by Bobbie Jean
17- A Heroic Heart by Chris Boyatt
18- Pew Poems by Stephanie Duncan
19- Painful Bouts of Sobriety by Amethyst Drake
20- Radicals & Rye by Diona Marie Gwyn
21- Common Disasters and Other Ordinary Tragedies by Brandon Thorpe
22- Identity Crisis Solved by Cameron Lyric Cox
23- Awakening by Rhonda Kendziorski
24- Betrayal and Love by Angelia Ross
25- I exist in fragments by the Dithy Rambler
The anthology is named after the original poem “Where the Old Stories Still Breathe” by Olivia Gilreath
. Cover photography by Stephen Phillips. Book design by Cheyanne Leonardo. Edited by Cheyanne Leonardo & Frances Denise.
More about Dandelion Scribes & the new book:
Dandelion Scribes is an online poetry publication founded in May 2024 and based in the Big South Fork. Our local core contributors come from all around the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Tennessee & Kentucky. Though our work exists especially to encourage creativity in our rural communities and uplift local writers, poets near & far have published their work with us, becoming part of a beautiful symphony of voices, sharing eclectic perspectives through poetry. We explore a multitude of themes & topics, emphasizing free expression and maintaining a special focus on intersections in nature, spirituality, and collective liberation.
In this book, we borrow from the past and look toward the beyond. This is the place where the old stories still breathe. Thank you for reading—and remembering—with us.